Pages

Homemade Black Bean Burgers ♥ Recipe

Today's recipe: Quick and easy black bean burgers, made at home with easy pantry ingredients. You can even freeze your own!

For years, I have forsworn veggie burgers. (Ewww, the salty-slimy 'Garden' Burger? To my taste, more like a compost heap.) No more, no more!! I've been missing out, completely, because -- yay, rah! -- we can make homemade black bean burgers.

And it's easy! And cheap! And -- this is the crucial test -- they taste great! And they pull together in a flash. And better than THAT? They freeze! Next time I'll make up a big batch, vacuum pack them with the FoodSaver, to have on hand, pronto, for a quick lunch or light supper.

PS To the punctuation police blinking in disbelief about all the exclamation points? Try one of these black bean burgers, you'll be backflipping too. (!!!!)

RECIPE for HOMEMADE BLACK BEAN BURGERS

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 20 minutes
Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped green onion, roughly chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped poblano pepper (I used 2 rings of Pickled Jalapeño Rings)
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/2 cup fresh cilantro (I used parsley)
15 ounces canned black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup toasted whole-grain bread crumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Kosher salt to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil for cooking

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmery. Stir in the green onion, peppers and garlic and cook until just beginning to turn brown. Transfer to a food processor. Add the cilantro and process until roughly chopped, several pulses. Add the beans and pulse five or six times, so beans are broken up but still in small chunks. (You don't want to overprocess, you're not aiming for a black bean paste.) Transfer to a large bowl, then stir in the remaining ingredients. Form into four patties.

In the same large skillet, heat another tablespoon or so of olive oil until shimmery. Gently add the patties, cook each side until browned, about 5 minutes total.

FREEZING TIPS If freezing, from into patties and let patties chill thoroughly, then transfer to freezer bags or vacuum pack in a FoodSaver. For better results, thaw before frying, just drop the freezer bag into a dish of cold water for 15 minutes.


KITCHEN NOTES
The inspiring recipe says to let the mixture refrigerate for 30 minutes - 4 hours before frying. I cooked two right away, another two an hour later. No difference.
The inspiring recipe says these burgers are too delicate for cooking on a grill. I would think you could get away with it, so long as a cooking basket is used, not the standard grill.
Note to Vegetarians

A Veggie Venture - Printer Friendly Recipe Graphic



MORE FAVORITE DRIED BEAN RECIPES
~ 15-Bean Soup ~
~ Chard & Chickpeas with Feta ~
~ Chicka Chicka Chickpea Lunch ~

~ more dried bean recipes ~
~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~
~ more low-carb recipes ~

FOR THOSE WHO EAT MEAT
~ Spinach Burgers ~

from Kitchen Parade, my food column
~ Green Chile Burgers ~





Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Warm Butternut Squash & Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing ♥ Recipe

Today's vegetable recipe: A warm salad, roasted winter squash tossed with chickpeas and a lemon-brightened tahini dressing. Vegan.

Last fall, I asked readers what they wanted 'more of' from A Veggie Venture. The answers came back 'more of the same' (thanks for that vote of confidence!) and 'more vegetarian suppers' (okay, great idea!). But the truth is, at the moment, my diet includes more meat than it has for many years, so vegetarian meals require more planning, less habit. My new tactic, for my own flexitarian lifestyle and to satisfy readers' requests, is to set aside one day a week for a vegetarian meal. With any luck, it'll work out for everyone!

First up, this warm salad made from roasted winter squash. I added a sweet potato -- that's optional, of course. I also lightened the dressing by reducing the olive oil and using only half the dressing, a good idea for anyone who watches calories. Even lightened, the calories add up for a salad. That said, this was an extremely satisfying salad, warm and aromatic, with good texture contrast between the roasted squash and the chickpeas. The tahini dressing is especially good, a definite keeper.

WARM BUTTERNUT SQUASH & CHICKPEA SALAD with TAHINI DRESSING

Hands-on time: 40 minutes
Time to table: 1-1/2 hours
Makes about 5 cups
See the inspiring recipe at Smitten Kitchen

SALAD
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon 'spice to taste' (see TIPS)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt to taste
1 butternut squash, washed, peeled, seeded and cut into bite-size pieces (here's how to peel and cut a butternut squash without losing a finger)
1 large sweet potato, peeled, cut into pieces slightly smaller than the butternut squash, optional (see TIPS)
15 ounces canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

TAHINI DRESSING (see TIPS)
1 clove garlic, minced
Zest and juice of one lemon
1-1/2 tablespoons tahini, stirred well
2 tablespoons water

SALAD Preheat oven to 425F. In a large bowl (see TIPS), whisk the garlic, allspice, olive oil and salt. Stir in the butternut squash and sweet potato and stir well to coat. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet, roast for 25 - 40 minutes, stirring once or twice, until squash and sweet potatoes are fully cooked and beginning to brown. Toss together the squash, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, onion, parsley and dressing. Serve warm.

DRESSING While the squash roasts, whisk all the dressing ingredients.


KITCHEN NOTES
The inspiring recipe calls for allspice and this is what I used. But my favorite spices with butternut squash are curry and ginger so these would be my choices the next time. Really, anything will do -- think of the spice that will best complement the rest of the meal or is your own favorite.
I was short on butternut squash, which is all the inspiring recipe uses, so added a sweet potato. This added both color and flavor variation which I loved. But the squash cooked faster than the sweet potato so to compensate, if using both, make sure the sweet potatoes are cut slightly smaller.
I ended up with about two times as much dressing as needed so give the amount that I would make again, versus the amount specified.
I like to use a really big bowl for tossing vegetables for roasting. It makes it easier to use less oil and still coat the vegetable pieces really well.
LEFTOVERS: The squash and sweet potatoes reheated beautifully in the oven but the chickpeas turned into little bullets. They kind of separate from the squash anyway, next time I'll scoop them out before warming the squash.









Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Roasted Cauliflower with Saffron ♥ Recipe

An interesting way to 'spice up' roasted cauliflower
Today's vegetable recipe: Cauliflower roasted with saffron and spices. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 point.

So. I'm learning a lot about vegetables these days, though -- get this -- by eating, no tasting, no, positively hating oxtails. (Note to Vegetarians)

It all started before Christmas when my friend Sharon had a recipe calling for oxtails and wanted to know what they were. My answer -- and I was wrong, to be sure -- was that oxtails were actually not the tails from beef cattle, even if the words made you think so, sort of like a rump roast is actually a shoulder roast. (Go figure.)

But then last week, oxtail stew was on the tasting menu at a local restaurant and -- being an adventurous eater -- I placed my order, looking forward to a delicacy. But OH MY. YUCK.YUCK.YUCK. Now to be fair, the thinking is that the oxtails were no good, past their due date, shall we say. But with one bite, I was ready to gag and now, even nearly a week later, anything remotely close to unusual is creating the same reaction.

And what does this have to do with vegetables?

Let's say you have a bad experience with frozen Brussels sprouts (or canned asparagus or creamed-all-vegetables or ...). I GET IT. I get that you might not want to try Brussels sprouts again. It's almost reflexive, a defense mechanism of some sort. I get that it could take both time and conditioning to become open-minded again.

Those of us who love vegetables, we understand that 99% of the time, our vegetables are just delicious. If something's not to our taste, we've got enough experience to know that something was off, that the next batch of whatever will be good. But if 100% of your experience is that oxtails Brussels sprouts are rotten stinky things? Well, I get it. It's hard to work up the gumption to return.



You will, I think, return again and again to roasted cauliflower, especially the roasted cauliflower made on this site's very first day, almost four years ago now. This treatment uses both a saffron-warmed olive oil and a splash of good vinegar. It's YUM not yuck.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER with SAFFRON

Hands-on time: 10 minutes up-front plus occasional stirring
Time to table: 45 minutes
Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
Pinch of saffron

1 head cauliflower, cored and cut into small florets
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (or another flavorful, gentle vinegar)
1 teaspoon dried spices (curry, ras el hanout, I used thyme)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400F. Combine the oil and saffron in a small bowl, place on top of the oven near the heat source so that the saffron will warm and its flavor will be transferred into the oil.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the remaining ingredients. Just before the oven is preheated, add the warm olive oil and toss well with a spatula. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and let roast for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so, or until the cauliflower reaches the desired doneness. Transfer to a serving dish, serve and enjoy!


KITCHEN NOTES
It's easier to use less oil for roasting vegetables when they're tossed for the first time in a large bowl, rather than drizzled and then tossed on the baking sheet itself.
That said, for roasted cauliflower to be really good, darn it, more than a tablespoon of oil is needed, much as I wish otherwise, two or three or even four tablespoons.




PRINT JUST A RECIPE! Now you can print a recipe without wasting ink and paper on the header and sidebar. Here's how.




Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Finn Crisp with Laughing Cow & Radishes ♥

Today's recipe: A quick snack or light lunch. Low carb. Weight Watchers one point.

A one-point lunch, a quick snackI may love to cook but I also love little-assembly-required quick lunches and snacks. They're not recipes, per se, more concepts. But I'm picky. Fast. Cheap. Quick. Easy. No dishes. Crunch. Fresh. Transportable. (And I think other readers must be hungry for such snacks and quick lunches too, as often as you check out my idea for a Satisfying Lunch in One Point.)

Enter my latest obsession that combines two products that have been right there under my radar fuh-EVAH. I just love these little sandwich snacks! They're crispy and creamy and crunchy all at the same time.



Finn Crisp Unlike most crackers, the ingredient list for Finn Crisp is short, just whole grain rye flour, water, yeast, salt and caraway. Wow! Whole grain and high fiber! No fat, no cholesterol, low sodium, with a little protein, too. Finn Crisp are easy to find in North America, I think, but prices vary widely. At the regular grocery store, they're expensive. At a place like World Market, they're only $1.79 for a 7 ounce box, very affordable!

Trivia: When I lived in Finland, my favorite breakfast was a Finn Crisp with a thin slice of a buttery cheese like Fontina, topped with marmalade. Yum.



Laughing Cow For years, I've avoided the little wedges of "processed cheese". They look like Velveeta! But if I'd just checked the label: again, a short list of ingredients and nothing that looks scary. At All. And if I'd only listened to everyone raving about them. (Thank you, Roni's Weigh)! I heard you!!)






FINN CRISP with LAUGHING COW & RADISHES

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Time to table: 5 minutes
Serves 1

3 Finn Crisp crackers
1 wedge Laughing Cow Light
Radishes, sliced








PRINT JUST A RECIPE! Now you can print a recipe without wasting ink and paper on the header and sidebar. Here's how.

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.




Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Ugly But Delicious Tofu ♥ Slow Cooker Recipe

Today's recipe: Tofu braised in a slow cooker in soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and other Asian-style flavors. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 point for a snack, 3 points for a meal.

Regular readers know that I'm prone to exclaiming, "Isn't it pretty?" (See?!) No chance of that happening here, with these mud-brown cubes of tofu. Ugh, how UNappealing. I couldn't bear for them to ugly-up a beautiful green salad. I wanted to leave them in the refrigerator to develop fridge-fur, justifying a fast trip to the rubbish bin. And then --

These ugly-ugly cubes called to me. Closing my eyes, I nabbed one cube, then another straight from the tupperware. They tasted great! And that's how Ugly But Delicious Tofu become my between-meal, protein-packed pick-me-up all this week -- now that's an eye opener.

For portion control, I put aside three cubes measuring an ounce, otherwise I might have eaten the whole dish, all at once.

Note the Escali kitchen scale which I pooh-poohed as an extravagant non-necessity for years, but now love-love-love and pull out at least once a day. And see the On/Off button on the left? It also sets the weight to zero, a very useful feature on food scales for two reasons.

To subtract the weight of the container -- Turn the scale on. Place an empty container on the scale. Press the On/Off button to zero the weight. Now add the food, which will be weighed all on its own.
To accumulate ingredients, especially for baking -- Turn the scale on. Place a mixing bowl (or something similar) on the scale. Press the On/Off button to zero the weight. Add the first ingredient, say 50 ounces (or grams, very useful for baking with European metric-measured ingredients) of sugar. Press the On/Off button again. Add the second ingredient, say 200 grams of flour. And so on -- very easy!

UGLY BUT DELICIOUS TOFU for the SLOW COOKER

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 4 - 7 hours
Makes 16 ounces (I doubled the recipe for a large slow cooker)

1 pound firm tofu
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (don't skip this)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper

DRAIN THE TOFU Place a layer of paper towels on a large plate, then the tofu block on top. Cover with another layer of paper towels. Place a heavy weight on top. Let drain for an hour. Peel off the paper and cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes.

SLOW COOKER Stir together remaining ingredients in the slow cooker. Add the tofu and gently toss until coated on all sides. Cover and cook on Low for 5 hours or on High for 3 hours.


KITCHEN NOTES
I notice just now that the recipe specifies mixing the tofu cubes with the soy mixture in a separate bowl first, then refrigerating for an hour. I accidentally skipped this step but do think that it would help the soy cubes to soak up the liquid more evenly. I would use a ziplock bag, however, to be able turn it to redistribute the liquid more evenly. What I did to encourage this was to stir the cubes every so often while they were in the slow cooker, so that's an option too.


MORE SLOW COOKER RECIPES
~ Slow Cooker Onion Soup ~
~ Creamy Slow Cooker Beans (no soaking) from Kitchen Parade ~

~ more slow cooker recipes from Kitchen Parade ~
~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~
~ more low-carb recipes ~


PRINT JUST A RECIPE! Now you can print a recipe without wasting ink and paper on the header and sidebar. Here's how.




Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Homemade Minestrone Soup ♥ Recipe

Hearty-tasting but low in calories
Today's soup recipe: A light-tasting but hearty soup made with low-calorie, low-carb vegetables. Weight Watchers 1 or 2 points. A low-carb soup when pasta is omitted.

Today's recipe comes with a lesson in Italian, compliments of the food dictionary at Epicurious, a quick source of information about culinary and ingredient terms.

'Minestra' [mih-NAYS-truh] means 'soup' in Italian, most often a soup of medium thickness, frequently with both meat and vegetables.
'Minestrina' means 'little soup,' a thin broth.
'Minestrone' means 'big soup,' a thick vegetable soup containing pasta and sometimes peas or beans, usually topped with grated Parmesan cheese and hearty enough for a complete meal.

That makes my version of minestrone someplace in between. It's hearty but tastes light and has just a few calories. My notes on a recipe card dated 1999 read, 'Excellent! Light! Filling!' And so it is.

HOMEMADE MINESTRONE SOUP

Hands-on time: 35 minutes
Time to table: 1 hour
Makes 14 cups

1/2 cup dry white wine (I used a rice wine but broth would work too)
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups chopped onion
2 leeks, cleaned, cut in half moons (see this photo tutorial about how to clean leeks)
9 cups broth (I used this Homemade Chicken Stock)

4 cups chopped green cabbage
2 cups chopped zucchini
1 small piece of Parmesan rind, optional

3/4 cups tiny pasta

3 cups fresh spinach, stems removed, chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil (for anyone with basil on hand, I recommend this, I used winter's less-expensive fresh cilantro)

Salt & pepper to taste
Fresh Parmesan, grated, optional

In a very large pot, heat the wine on MEDIUM HIGH heat while prepping the first vegetables. Add the celery, onion and leek as they're prepped, simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the cabbage, zucchini and Parmesan rind, return to a simmer and let cook about 10 minutes. Add the pasta and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the spinach and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the fresh basil. Taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer to bowls, top with freshly grated Parmesan.


KITCHEN NOTES
This recipes makes a LOT of soup. It doesn't freeze well so you might adjust the quantities for less.
I like to bring the broth to a boil in the microwave while prepping the vegetables, it helps keep everything moving.
By the second day, the pasta tends to suck up all the broth. So if you plan to make ahead and serve the next day, two suggestions. First, stop cooking after the cabbage and zucchini have cooked and refrigerate overnight. The next day, bring the soup to a boil, then proceed. Second, cook the pasta separately and stir into individual servings or what's being rewarmed that day.
If you use the ever-so-tender baby spinach that comes prewashed in bags, be sure to remove the stems before adding to the soup and cook for just a minute.

A Veggie Venture - Printer Friendly Recipe Graphic



MORE HEARTY BUT LOW-CALORIE SOUP RECIPES
~ 15 Bean Soup ~
~ Quick Corn & Coconut Soup ~
~ Greens 'n' All Beet Soup ~
~ Lentil Soup Vincent ~
from Kitchen Parade

~ more soup recipes from A Veggie Venture ~
~ more soup recipes from Kitchen Parade ~
~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~
~ more low-carb recipes ~




Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Low-Carb Fried 'Potatoes' (Turnips) ♥ Recipe

A low-carb alternative to fried potatoes
Today's vegetable recipe: A low-carb substitute for fried potatoes, turnips fried with onions and seasoned with cumin. Weight Watchers 1 point.

Okay, so of course turnips aren't potatoes.

But for those who either choose or must follow low-carb diets, call me surprised that to my taste anyway, fried turnips are a good substitute -- it just takes cooking them at high heat until they develop that golden-brown color and oniony flavor we so associate with fried potatoes, whether for breakfast (my downfall favorite) or for supper. These were great!

Full disclosure: better good luck than good management! I learned about fried turnips only because the phone rang while cooking supper and soon enough -- oops -- the turnips were looking more than a little done. I feared they were lost but took one bite and whoah -- just kept on cooking.

LOW-CARB FRIED TURNIPS

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 60 minutes
Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 pound turnips, trimmed, peeled, cut in 3/4-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat the oil on MEDIUM HIGH until shimmery. Add the onion and stir to coat with fat. Cook for 4 - 5 minutes until onion begins to turn gold. Add the turnips and stir to coat with fat. Let cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often, reducing heat if needed to keep the turnips from burning. Add the cumin. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes or so (this long may not be needed but it worked for me) until the turnips are cooked through and beginning to caramelize. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve and enjoy!






PRINT JUST A RECIPE! Now you can print a recipe without wasting ink and paper on the header and sidebar. Here's how.





Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad